A Trip to Hawaii Through the Eyes of a Stock Trader

A Trip to Hawaii Through the Eyes of a Stock Trader 

Hi, World! Upfront, I am going to tell you this write-up could have easily been 314 pages long. I visited Hawaii for the first time in July 2014. Ever since I was a young kid, I thought Hawaii was a dream destination. My Dad visited a few times on business trips and told me stories of grandeur, relaxation and immaculate scenery. I told myself I was going to go and I did. And it was well worth it! In my view of the world, I believe life is all about experiences, the people you experience things with and the activities you engage in. 

Hawaii was one of the most majestic, emotionally soothing experiences for me. I wanted to write my reflections down, for each and every one of you, and for those who have not had the opportunity to travel to Hawaii, yet. I highly encourage you, beyond a shadow of a doubt, to make sure you go. I visited the island of Oahu. Below are five things I found fascinating

#1 The beaches: When you first imagine Hawaii your mind immediately takes you to a world-class beach with pure crystal white sand, sunrays that clear your soul and drinks that clear your mind. While the above are true, I had not anticipated the rocks. The majority of the beaches are filled with reef and rocks. The first beach I visited, granted, was the man made lagoon in the Disney Resort. So, they went out of their way to make the lagoons as tourist friendly as possible. However, once you wade about 30 feet into the waist deep water, you are stepping on rocks. Notice how I said ?tourist friendly?. Anytime I travel, I try my best to not go to the "tourist traps". I go off the beaten path and oftentimes get a local to take me to the local spots. Now, before you take this as a negative, understand the beaches are beautiful, just truly different than my perspective before visiting. My favorite beach while I was there, was Bellows Beach. As I'm sure you know, Jonny Guarco, Director of Strategic Partnerships at Real Life Trading, lives in Hawaii. I stayed with him and his family during my visit and we had our Fourth of July on Bellows Beach. This is the beach you think about when you think about Hawaii. Incredible scenery, beautiful sand, clear water and no rocks or reefs. Again, it's just good to know. If you do go to Hawaii, bring some water shoes with you to the beaches, just to avoid getting your feet cut.

#2 The Prices: This one surprised me. Yes, I'll admit, the flight over to Hawaii cost two or three pretty pennies. But once you get to Hawaii, you truly do not get raked over the coals by the prices. I'm sure some locals might disagree with me, but we're talking about a state almost entirely supported by tourism and agricultural distribution. In October 2014 I went to a St. Andrews State Park Beach in Panama City, Florida with my girlfriend, Ashley. It was $8.00 per car just to get in...

I wanted to embark on some hikes while I was in Hawaii. As a group, we all went two places. Diamond Head ($2.00 to park) and KoKo Head (free). I HIGHLY suggest both. KoKo Head is more for my in shape readers, followers and traders alike. That one was tough. Made me realize I'm kind of a roll monster, but the view . . . it was like a cool water fountain for your brain. But, again, let me emphasize, free! I hope nothing changes after this article circles the world once or twice, but I was shocked. Now, of course there were places, shops, sites you can go and drop some serious hard earned coin, but for the most part, it was priced fairly. So, if you are a professional trader, teacher, fast food worker, whatever, save up about $5,000 per person for flight, hotel and food and you?re good to go! Not too bad, for Hawaii!!

#3 The Food: If you've met me, you know I love to eat. I also love to eat healthy. I am keeping this one short and sweet. 

Good luck not gaining weight in Hawaii. It's not an easy feat. I ate like a spoiled king every day. Dale C. (a Real Life Trader) and his family treated me to a huge seafood buffet the first night of my stay. I ate more food than I am proud to admit, and it continued like that every day. A sea of seafood buffets, and I said "yes, please" to pretty much all of them. But, as I mentioned above, they didn't price me out, which is easy to do. In short, you'll eat great. Enjoy it!

#4 The Homeless: This one was purely a surprise to me. I had no idea Hawaii had such a homeless problem. I was told some of them are simply college kids who had just enough money for the trip there and now they live on the beach every day. I'm sure you all know now, I simply don't judge anyone. In fact, this sounds pretty awesome, however, I would not want to live on a place called Homeless Island. In Waikiki Beach, HI, the most highly trafficked tourist location in Hawaii (from my viewpoint) is riddled with hundreds of tents, shacks, lean-tos, newspaper cabins ,and it's quite the site. It was something I totally did not expect and it caught me off guard. Noting that some are there by choice and I am sure many are not. It weighs on my heart for sure because I think the majority of homelessness could be taken care of by local government (but that's an entirely different story and write-up). It was the impetus for some deep conversations between Jonny and I. A great reminder, friends, of how good we truly have it and to cherish and be thankful for what we have. :)

#5 The Traffic: Again, call me naive but when I thought of Hawaii the main thing that came to mind was amazing beaches, umbrella drinks, topical fish, incredible weather and 14 people on the beach with you. Pure bliss and escaping from civilization. There are a lot of people, not a lot of space and not a lot of roads. I didn't drive much, but I was only there one week and I definitely spent at least three hours in traffic jams. Whatever, not a huge stressor, because there is not an open container law for the passengers in Hawaii, so I sipped my local brew and let Jonny navigate the darting cars and lack of blinkers. If you?re staying in one place the entire time you won't run into much traffic, but if you plan to tour the whole island, which you would better, you'll get into at least one traffic jam. No biggie. Enjoy and relax. Again, just something I didn?t expect.Bottom line, put Hawaii in your forefront and go. I went on vacation, but I kept in contact with my friends, family, and followers although not obsessively. I had the opportunity to trade while I was there. I do like the time change. I woke up around 7-8 am each day, the earliest ever, but it felt like noon my time. The stock market closes at 10 am for those who live in Hawaii. I think that's great if you know how to get some day trading action in from 7-10 am, and then on to the rest of your day. I met seven other real life traders: Renee and her husband, Larry and his wife, Dale, Alex, Reuben and of course, Jonny Guarco himself. Maybe you too will be so privileged, but regardless of who you meet, Hawaii is waiting with baited breath and open arms. Go hug that place! It's an experience you'll never forget! 

Jerremy Alexander Newsome - professional trader and CEO of RealLifeTrading.com